'Someone Else's America" is a bittersweet "Odd Couple" look at two immigrants -- one legal, one not. The two European men are old friends who find the American dream elusive as they pursue it in quietly desperate ways.

The big charms of this modest, slightly disheveled film by Belgrade-born director Goran Paskaljevic ("Tango Argentino") are Tom Conti, whose dreamy smile keeps the tone wistful, and Miki Manojlovic, an actor from the former Yugoslavia, whose eyes have a heartrending basset- hound sadness.

Conti plays an impish, romantic Spaniard named Alonso, who runs a dingy Brooklyn bar called the Paradiso. It doesn't have many customers, but it makes a comfy -- though somewhat squalid -- home for him and his blind mother (Maria Casares), who is obsessed with dreams of returning to her native village in Spain. She longs for rocks, earth and goats.

WORKING NIGHT AND DAY

Alonso's dour best buddy, Bayo (Manojlovic), is from Montenegro. Lacking a green card, he does janitorial work at the cafe at night in exchange for a shabby room, and labors during the day on a toxic-waste collection crew.

The film is slow to develop what eventually becomes a soulful story focused primarily on Bayo, whose wife has deserted his family in Montenegro. He tries to learn English and save enough money to bring his mother and three children to America.

He has written letters and sent money to his family but, unknown to him, neither has reached Montenegro. He worries constantly about his young daughter, Savka (Andjela Stojkovic) -- who stopped sleeping after she thought her father stopped writing -- and about his youngest son, Pepo (Lazar Kalmic), a sweet-natured boy who's always playing a little accordion. The oldest son, Luka (Sergej Trifunovic), is arrogant and a bit of a bum.

WARMTH AND HUMOR

Paskaljevic isn't always sure whether he wants his film to be a laugh-out-loud comedy, but some of the interchanges between Bayo and Alfonso are warmly humorous, even if they come across as stagy.

What is lacking is a glimpse at the teeming atmosphere of Brooklyn; "Someone Else's America," shot largely indoors, feels a little claustrophobic. This suits the theme fairly well -- immigrants don't exactly have keys to the city -- but wears on the viewer.

The story takes a bitter turn when Bayo's mother decides to immigrate via Mexico because she hasn't heard from him for so long and is desperate for his financial and emotional support.

When she and the children attempt to cross the Rio Grande, a devastating incident turns an otherwise dreamy film into one that is disturbing and poignant.

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